All AFN television channels that are distributed on-base in Germany over the TKS cable network have been reassigned new broadcast frequencies. The frequency reassignment is part of some preliminary work associated with a large-scale technical upgrade that TKS will be rolling-out in the coming months at U.S. military installations throughout Germany.
For existing on-base viewers that are currently watching AFN free-to-air television service, a new “channel scan” or “channel search” must be done in order to continue to receive the existing AFN cable service. There will no change to the actual AFN television channel lineup. You should do the new channel scan before or not later than Tuesday, May 28, 2019; at which time the old frequency assignments will be deactivated. If the new channel frequencies have not been properly saved or captured to the television set, it will appear as if there is an AFN outage.
NOTE: The new channel scan does not apply to anyone living off-base, or to anyone using an TKS easyTV receiver. With a TKS device, the set-top box performs all channel updates automatically.
For new or first-time viewers connecting a television set to the on-base TKS cable network after May 2019, the initial channel scan will capture the new AFN frequencies by default; therefore no additional action will be required.
FAQ | AFN FREQUENCY UPDATE
Why change the AFN cable frequencies?
TKS will be rolling-out a massive infrastructure and service upgrade this year at U.S. military installations throughout Germany, and the frequency reassignment is just some basic housekeeping that needs to be done prior to the system upgrade.
Who needs to do a new channel scan?
Only those living on-base that are currently watching free-to-air AFN television. This is when a television set (or DVB-C tuner) is connected directly to your home’s cable jack and is receiving AFN over the TKS cable network.
If you’re connecting to AFN cable for the first time after May 2019 – no worries – you’ll be capturing the new broadcast frequencies automatically by default!
Can I do the channel scan now or do I have to wait?
You can do a new channel immediately and then save all of the updated channels to your television set or tuner. Right now your television set may recognize both the old and the new channel frequencies, however the old frequencies will be discontinued on 28 May.
How do you do a channel scan?
Unfortunately, there is no “universal” procedure because each television manufacturer organizes their menus and features somewhat differently. Generally speaking, look for the “channel scan” or “channel storage” feature within the “Channels”, “TV”, or “Cable” sections in your television set’s main menu.
I did the channel scan but I’m not getting AFN now…
Try the channel scan again, and be sure to confirm that you want to “save” or “overwrite” all of the newly found channels. If you don’t confirm the save, your television tuner won’t store those channels!